Semifinal Rematch Up Next for 'Cuse

Saturday, May 23

Charlottesville, Va.

2:30 p.m

Syracuse University

#2/#3 Notre Dame

5/20/2026 5:40:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Tickets Parking Championship Weekend Hub ESPN2 Syracuse Sports Network Live Stats Game Notes

Orange and Irish Meet for Second Time

No. 7 SYRACUSE (13-5) vs. No. 2 Notre Dame (12-2)
Game Details	Saturday, May 23, 2026 \| Charlottesville, Va. \| 2:30 p.m. ET
Game Coverage	Live Coverage: Stats Television: ESPN2 Stream: ESPN2 Listen: Cuse.com \| TK99/105 \| Learfield IMG College \| Cuse App \| Varsity App \| TuneIn \| WAER Twitter: @CuseMLAX Instagram: @CuseMLAX Facebook: CuseMLAX
Syracuse Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Game Notes
Notre Dame Links	News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Game Notes

THE GAME
- Semifinal Saturday is back again for the Orange as Syracuse makes its second-straight trip to Championship Weekend - the only team in the field of four that was here a year ago.
- The No. 7 Orange meet the second-seeded Fighting Irish for a second time in 2026, another game on the revenge tour for the Orange this postseason. Behind a second-half surge, Notre Dame clipped Syracuse 16-11 in South Bend in a game with six ties and seven lead changes.
- Sixth-seeded Syracuse won a quarterfinal game for a second year in a row, outlasting No. 4 North Carolina 13-11 at Shuart Stadium on Saturday, backed by a 13-of-24 day at the X for John Mullen and a six-point effort from Joey Spallina (3g, 3a). Luke Rhoa (2g, 1a), Wyatt Hottle (1g, 2a), and Finn Thomson (3g) added three points apiece for good measure.
- In the first quarterfinal game at Shuart last weekend, Notre Dame dispatched Johns Hopkins after out-scoring the Jays 9-3 in the second half to break open a 6-6 halftime tie.
- Familiar city, yes. Familiar venue, no. It's been three quarters of a decade since Syracuse men's lacrosse has played a game at Scott Stadium, which was the Virginia Cavaliers' primary stadium until Klöckner Stadium opened. Two Syracuse men's lacrosse teams have likely played at Scott Stadium - the 1938 team won 13-4 in Charlottesville, but the 1950 dropped a 13-7 score on Grounds.
- Head coach Gary Gait can get the surface scout just walking downstairs, however. His former assistant on the Syracuse women's lacrosse staff and current Orange women's head coach Regy Thorpe and the Orange picked up a 6-5 win over Virginia at Scott Stadium earlier this year.
- Saturday's 2:30 p.m. game will be a bit of a bookend in the Syracuse-Notre Dame series; the first-ever meeting between the Orange and the Fighting Irish came in the 2001 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Semifinals at Rutgers University, a 12-5 win for the Orange on the Banks.
- It's a full house of lacrosse talent and knowledge this weekend for ESPN2's broadcast: Anish Shroff '04 will have the call alongside Syracuse All-American midfielder Paul Carcaterra and Johns Hopkins All-American Quint Kessenich. Dana Boyle, an All-ACC midfielder at Virginia, will report from the sidelines.
- The game will also air on the Syracuse Sports Network with Tim Leonard and Kyle Fetterly on the call for TK99/105 in Syracuse, through Cuse.com, The Varsity App, and the TuneIn app.
- Syracuse student-radio station WAER will be on hand as well for the game.
- The winner of Saturday's game gets the winner of the day's opener between top-seeded Princeton and unseeded Duke. That game begins at Noon on ESPN2 as well.

A FAMILY WEEKEND
- When you're here at Championship Weekend, you're family.
- That goes double for Syracuse men's lacrosse.
- Nine current men's lacrosse players have family ties to Championship Weekend, combining for 10 NCAA National Championships.
- The Orange roster has the most parents who played at Championship Weekend among the four teams this weekend for Division I. Princeton is second with four with Duke in third with two.
- Liam Banks Jr. - Liam (Father) - Syracuse - 4 Championship Weekends, 1 NCAA Championships (2000)
- Brett Bucktooth Jr. - Brett (Father) - Syracuse - 3 Championship Weekends, 1 NCAA Championship (2004)
- William Dempsey (Manager) - Gail (Mother, Manager) - Syracuse - 6 Championship Weekends, 2 NCAA Championships (1989, 1990)
- Billy Dwan III - Bill Dwan Jr. (Father) - Johns Hopkins - 1 Championship Weekend
- Brayden Ferguson - Jody (Father) - Syracuse - 3 Championship Weekends, 1 NCAA Championship (1995)
- Bogue Hahn - Matt (Father) - Maryland - 3 Championship Weekends
Helen-Marie - Maryland - 3 Championship Weekends, 2 NCAA Championships (1995, 1996)
- Joey, Jake, Brett Spallina - Joe (Father) - Adelphi - 3 Championship Games, 2 NCAA Championships (1993, 1995)

BATTLE TESTED
- Of the 16 teams that entered the NCAA Tournament, few are as battle tested as Syracuse.
- The Orange have now played nine games against Tournament teams, including North Carolina three across the regular season, ACC Tournament, and last Saturday in the Quarterfinals.
- The Tar Heels played 12 games against NCAA Tournament teams prior to the Tournament's start, while Virginia played nine.
- Notre Dame and Princeton have played eight apiece.
- Cornell and Yale have also played seven games against postseason foes.
- Now with the field cut to four, Syracuse is familiar with the other three left having played Princeton, Duke, and Notre Dame during the 2026 season.
- The Orange are 1-2 against those three schools this season, beating Duke at home but falling on the road at both Princeton and Notre Dame.
- This is the fourth time in program history Syracuse has played the other three semifinalists during the regular season.
- In 1999 regular season Syracuse played Georgetown, Virginia, and Hopkins, beating the Hoyas in the semis before falling to the Cavaliers in the title game.
- In 2000, Syracuse played Johns Hopkins, Princeton, and Virginia in the regular season, beating Hopkins in the semifinals and Princeton for John Desko's first national championship as a head coach.
- In 2002, Syracuse played the same teams in the regular season, beating Virginia in the semifinals before wresting back crown from Princeton.

A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD...
- Advance Syracuse to the NCAA Division I National Championship for the first time since 2013.
- Improve 'Cuse to 13-12 all-time against Notre Dame.
- Secure the 74th NCAA Tournament win all-time.
- Bump the Syracuse record to 3-0 all-time against the Irish in the NCAA Tournament (2001, 2008)
- Be the 18th NCAA Tournament Semifinal win for Syracuse in program history and improve the Orange to 5-1 as a six seed.
- See the Orange win their first game at Scott Stadium for an NCAA Tournament.
- Be the first Syracuse men's lacrosse win at Scott Stadium since a 13-4 win on April 14, 1938.
- Be the 975th win in program history, the second-most all-time among Division I programs.